Thankful
by ohxmyxria
Summary: A Thanksgiving Day One-shot. With their family torn apart by the impending arrival of the Volturi, everyone is a bit on edge. But, can they pull it together for the one being they are all thankful for?


Title: Thankful

Setting in the series: During Braking Dawn, before the Volturi arrive. Thanksgiving Day!

Author: Ria!

Rating: T (just for some language.)

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Twilight Series. **

"It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a few Indians," Rose remarked coldly from the couch. "Seriously, shouldn't you mutts be having some tribal ceremony somewhere? Chanting and all that jazz? Calling on rain gods and sacrificing virgins?"

Jacob did not seem to be too off put by Rosalie's snarky remarks. He was far too wrapped up in a certain girl's attention to give the blonde vampire any acknowledgement besides flipping her the bird.

Rosalie snorted. "Real eloquent, this one. I say we take him back to the pound and exchange him for another one, if you all really insist on having a pet. Perhaps the next one can be potty trained and live outside like a real dog." She made a show of pinching her nose. "He positively reeks."

"I've started to not notice the smell," Esme replied softly from her spot on the couch in Carlisle's arms.

Rosalie clearly was not used to her complaints going ignored. Her eyes narrowed fiercely as she looked towards the television where the Macy's Day parade was in full march.

She wasn't seeing anything but red, it seemed.

"Come now," Edward sighed, taking a break from him piano playing in the foyer. "Are you really going to pout just because you can't have your way, Rosalie? Please. Act your age."

"Becoming a father sure has done nothing for your insufferable ego," she snapped back. "Don't talk to me in that tone, Edward. I won't be chastised like child."

"Perhaps if you stopped acting like one," he answered, his voice trailing off.

Rosalie sprang up from the couch, her golden mane flouncing about her. "You're really wearing on my last nerve. Can it be helped that I'm in a mad mood? This mutt," she hissed, pointing at Jacob, "is always here, sullying up my home. I can't even relax anymore with him here-"

"He's not a threat," Carlisle gently reminded her in his paternal way.

"Yeah, sure. The great bloody beast isn't a threat." She crossed her arms, glaring out the window. "And I suppose the same can be said for his loyal hounds out there? This is bullshit. Then there are all the other vampires here, but them, I can deal with since they aren't always in my sight. I'm not sharing my house with Fido any longer. Get him out of here!"

"Rosalie," Esme chided. "You're being rude. Jacob is a guest here, as is everyone else, and you would do well to remember your manners."

"Ugh! It's like I'm talking to the wall for all this is getting me!" And with that, she strode out of the house in a blur. A couple of seconds later, the sound of trees being ripped out of the ground forcibly could clearly be heard just in the distance. The family recognized the destruction with disapproval and head shaking.

"It's a shame," Esme remarked. "She's only just returned home and she's in such a horrible mood."

Emmett peeked his head out of the kitchen then. "She gone yet?"

Edward held up his hand to stop his brother. "Give it a few more seconds and she'll be out of range… There, it's safe now."

Emmett's shoulders slumped as he meandered into the living room. "It's sad that I have to hide from my own wife."

Kate danced into the room after him, her topaz eyes sparkling with amusement. "It's sad that we all have to hide from your wife. Something better be done about her soon or else-"

"She won't do anything that extreme," Edward argued suddenly. "She's a hot head, but not an idiot."

Kate shrugged her shoulders. "Guess Daddy would know best." She winked at Jacob. "So how is the little trooper? Getting in a good nap, I reckon?"

"Yeah," Jacob mumbled, sounding close to sleep himself. "She's been up at weird hours, wanting to play with all the new 'guests'." The quote marks were obvious in his voice.

"Don't be like that now," Kate said, waving away Jacob's short reply. She was one of the few vampires who didn't feel uneasy around Jacob; she found him rather entertaining. "They're all here to help the child, after all."

"All the same-"

"Jacob wants Renesmee to have as normal a life as possible," Edward explained, talking over Jacob. "As do we all. It's just… not feasible at this point in time. Later, perhaps."

"Yeah," Emmett growled. "After we exterminate some Volturi butt."

"Emmett," Edward groaned, his head resting in the palm of his hand. "How many times have I told you? We're not trying to start a battle that we may not be able to win. Don't get any stupid ideas like that; it's not smart."

"It's not an idea. Just a backup strategy," he answered, flexing his large muscles.

"Here's an idea," Bella said, entering the room suddenly with Tanya. "How about we not talk about those types of things at all for now, hmm? Jacob's right: Renesmee should have as normal a life as possible. And, it turns out," she added with a grin, gesturing to Tanya. The strawberry blonde fished a large plastic-covered bird from a shopping bag. "Thanksgiving is very possible for her."

Jacob pumped his fist. "Alright! Turkey Day is so on!"

"Bella thought that having Thanksgiving would be a good thing for the child," Tanya giggled. "It sounded silly at first when she asked me to go with her to shop for supplies, but I think we should give it a try. For the child's sake. Now, who's willing to help us get everything ready?"

The household was very full of vampires thanks to the constant stream of witnesses the Cullens had called in. But, it just so happened that a large number of the red-eyed nomads had taken off for hunting, the holiday time making for excellent game wondering about outside. This meant that the original Cullens (_minus Alice and Jasper_, Bella realized sadly), the whole Denali coven, the Irish Clan, and Garrett were the only ones present on this Thanksgiving Day. This turned out to work quite well, for of all the vampires who were currently staying in the Cullen household, these individuals were the ones easiest to get along with.

Bella, having the most recent experience at making human food, was quickly put in charge of the whole kitchen operation. This left Esme, Tanya, and Siobhan to work under her. Liam, Siobhan's mate, and little Maggie stayed in the kitchen to assist were they could. Edward was in charge of creating a festive environment for Renesmee's first Thanksgiving Day. He and Carlisle were sent back into town to gather up decorations – his hard expression expressed to Bella that he understood quite well who she originally would have had assigned decorations to, but nether of them commented on it. Jacob was assigned babysitting duty of Renesmee after she woke quite curious as to what was going on. The rest of the household went for nearby hunting trips.

Esme seemed very worried as the females (plus Liam) gathered in the kitchen. "I don't know about this, Bella. Don't the women on TV usually start the turkey the day before Thanksgiving?"

"Technically, yes," Bella answered as she rolled up her sleeves and began washing the turkey. "But we happen to have a few advantages over the human woman." To demonstrate this, Bella reached inside the bird swiftly, clearing the turkey of its excess insides. She dumped the mess in the garbage and wiped her hands clean. "Phase one of the turkey, complete in under five seconds."

"I think I'd like to get started on the mashed potatoes," Siobhan spoke up. "They used to be my specialty."

"I'll help!" Maggie volunteered cheerfully, skipping to Siobhan's side.

Tanya was pouring contents of cans into a large mixing bowl. "Won't we have too much stuff? Ness- I mean, Renesmee hardly eats human food as it is."

"This is mostly for decoration," Bella admitted. "I don't expect her to finish a whole 18 ounce turkey by herself."

"We can just leave clean up to the werewolf," Liam said quietly as he handed Tanya the eggs. "He eats like a garbage disposal."

"Very true," Bella giggled, ignoring Jacob's whines of disagreement from the living room.

Meanwhile, the hunting party had run into an obstacle in their trip.

"Hey, Emmett," Kate called out, rushing up to the large vampire as he finished off his third deer. "I caught Rosalie's scent not far from here. Should we go bring her home? She'll kill us if she misses Nessie's first Thanksgiving."

Emmett sighed. "She hasn't had enough time to cold down yet. Wouldn't be smart to go bother her now."

Kate put her hands on her hips. "Be a man, Emmett! You can't be afraid of your own wife forever! That's just pathetic!"

Garrett rushed over then join in the conversation. He snickered, wiping the blood from his mouth. "Have you _met_ that Rosalie? The dame's vicious! Can't blame him for not wanting to get in her way."

"Yeah," Emmett agreed. "She needs more time to cool down on her own. Still not even sure what set her off."

"Ugh!" Kate stomped her feet, making the ground crack beneath her. "You men are all the same. You just don't understand woman, do you?" She pointed a slender finger at Emmett. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Emmett Cullen, calling yourself her husband yet not being there to comfort her. Don't you at least understand _why_ she's so upset? And I'll tell you now," she growled, cutting Emmett off before he could speak. "It doesn't have anything to go with the werewolf. It's bigger then that."

Emmett scratched his head. "Is it because of the Volturi thing? Cause otherwise, I got nothing."

Kate shook her head slowly. "Gosh, you're dense. She's under a lot of stress, Emmett. Not because of our impending doom or that werewolf always being at the house. It's because of Renesmee."

"She loves that kid! Why would she be under stress because of her?"

"It's exactly because she loves Renesmee, you oaf!" Kate smacked Emmett in the chest. "Long as I've known her, she's always been bitter because she's not human. You know that. But, she was at least comforted with the belief that all other vampire females were in her same, non-baby-producing boat. Now look at Bella. Gets her happily ever after with Edward forever AND the child that Rosalie always wanted. She's so beyond jealousy that it's not even funny."

"She's not acting jealous-"

"She's trying not to show it because then Bella might not let her around the child! Pay attention, will ya!" The corn silk blonde ran a hand through her hair distractedly. "Do you get it now? She isn't sure how to display her pent up emotions, so she's taking it out on that Jacob kid – and anyone else who gets in her way. But she needs you, Emmett, a lot. So get your ass out there and _help_ her cool down instead of wussing out!"

Emmett nodded his head once and then took off the way Kate had came. "I expect you both to be there to cut the turkey!" Kate called out as Emmett dashed out of sight.

Garrett slowly came up behind Kate. "Look at you, playing relationship therapist."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Had to do it. Rosalie is a good friend and Emmett's too thick in the ways of woman. He'll own me for this, anyway."

Garrett swiped his sandy bangs out of his face. "Can't put any blame on him, though. You woman don't exactly come with an instruction manual."

"That's because we want you men to figures us out," she replied before taking off for the house.

"Trust me," Garrett mumbled. "We want to figure you out just as badly."

Edward and Carlisle were already decorating the house by the time Emmett had coaxed Rosalie into returning home. Her expression was not nearly as sour as it had been before, but Rosalie had not yet let her guard down, clearly.

"What's all this?" she answered, palming the garland that hung around the stair rail.

"There weren't many festive things left in Forks," Edward explained as he lit a few scented candles. The smell of pumpkin pie filled the room. "We had to drive out to Sappho to get respectable décor."

"Let me guess, Wal-Mart?"

"Does it matter?" he asked, suddenly defensive.

She laughed quietly. "I suppose not. You'd just better burn them before Alice returns." The mood was abruptly killed by the mentions of their missing siblings, so Rosalie changed the subject. "How's the food coming along?"

"We're working on it," Tanya replied from the kitchen, sounding frustrated. "How do humans deal with this holiday every year? We've already burnt two pies and over spiced the stuffing. We'll be lucky if the yams turn out halfway edible at this rate, too."

"Have pity on those who actually have to eat the stuff!" Jacob shouted from the backyard where he and Renesmee were building leaf piles.

"Oh shut up, Jacob," Bella retorted. "Everything will taste fine, I promise. Just keep Renesmee entertained and leave the cooking to us."

"Need an extra pair of hands?" Rosalie asked as she walked into the kitchen. It was over flowing with smells, and not all pleasant.

"That would be mush appreciated," Siobhan said. "We've already had to fire Liam and Maggie after they ruined the salad with too much garnishing." She gestured over her shoulder. "Give Esme a hand with the yams, dear? She's not quite sure what to do with the marshmallows."

As Rosalie gently took the bag of white fluff from a very confused Esme, Carlisle enlisted Emmett and Garret in decorating the outside of the house while Kate joined Jacob and Renesmee in jumping into piles of dead leaves. Edward finished up the interior furnishings with Liam and a very enthusiastic Maggie who constantly almost set fire to something with the lighter.

The kitchen was complete pandemonium for the better part of the next hour. Bella, who was done with the turkey and just waiting for it to finished soaking up flavor as it cooled, was put on vegetable duty. With her newfound grace, the job went easily. Sadly, with her newfound strength, she destroyed two of Esme's cooking boards in her carelessness. Tanya was pleasantly surprised when her latest two pies came out just as they looked in the cookbook, but still disappointed that three others had gone to waste before she could finally get it right. With Rosalie's help, the yams were cooked and finished in record time, though Esme was still baffled over the use of marshmallows. Meanwhile, Siobhan's mashed potatoes came out wonderfully, though with much more then was necessary for the meal.

When Renesmee was finally brought inside, everything looked perfect. Just like in all the magazines; rusty colored garland adjourned just about everywhere, dimly lit candles gave the room a nostalgic feelings, and soft music floated from Edward's sound system that had been brought downstairs. The usually unused dinning room table was covered completely by dishes under the soft chandelier light. Esme had dug out amber coverings for the table and matching cushions for every chair. Golden-colored silverware and goblets completed the scene.

Bella sat at the head of the table, placing Renesmee on her lap, who cooed jovially. Edward kissed the child's forehead and took his place beside his wife and daughter. Jacob, Rosalie and Emmett sat to their left while Carlisle and Esme were on the right. The rest of the extended family filled the rest of the seats.

"Renesmee," Bella said softly in her ringing chime. "This is a holiday called Thanksgiving. On this day, we remember all that we are thankful for as we gather with our cherished family members." As she said this, Bella thought of the two members of their family who were gone, but not forgotten. Then, she looked around at the full table and smiled. "Everyone here worked very hard so that we could have this holiday for you. Do you like it?"

The child raised her pale head to face the rest of the table, her brown eyes aglow by the light from the chandelier. "Thank you all very much," she said in a clear, melodious voice. "I'm happy you're my family. I'm thankful that I have all of you." And, of course, everyone's heart melted.

"We're all thankful for you," Edward whispered in his daughter's ear. "And we're thankful that we'll always have you, Renesmee."

"Always and forever," Bella agreed, sounding as close to tears as a vampire could be. She could only hope forever would be enough.

_A/n: Happy thanksgiving everyone!_


End file.
